February 22, 2011

Something of Interest: Update on the Cross Keys, Aylesbury

Quite a while ago I did a blogpost about The Cross Keys Inn at Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire which was owned by my ancestor Robert Read (1740 – 1799), one of the sons of my 6 x great grandfather Cozens Read.

Although I had been in Aylesbury in 2000 I did not remember if I had seen the Inn then or not. I did not know then that it was my ancestor’s home. I did wonder what happened to it and thought maybe it had been modernised as so many old places are.

Yesterday my cousin Marion (we found each other last year) informed me that she had come across a You Tube film called Aylesbury c1964 in colour and that as she watched it the Cross Keys came into view!

This is the link to the film and the Cross Keys appears around 2minutes 39seconds or so, next to the Coach and Horses.

Cousin Marion decided to do a bit more research and found, sadly, that the Cross Keys was demolished :-( in 1962 so the date of the film on You Tube is just a little out.

I feel rather sad knowing that it is demolished, a sort of last link to my ancestors of the 1700s, but I suppose it’s not surprising such an old building would have to make way for new buildings. I think I discovered several years ago that the building was about 300 years old.

This photograph is part of a postcard dated 1900 in my private collection - copyright 2011

Just a reminder of what the inn looked like in 1900 and on the film on You Tube it looks pretty much the same.

The You Tube film itself is probably one of the last glimpses we descendants will see of The Cross Keys. My grateful thanks to cousin Marion for discovering this film and letting me know about it.

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YOUR ANCESTORS

If you could see your ancestors
All standing in a row
Would you be proud of them
Or don't you really know?
Some strange discoveries are made
In climbing family trees
And some of them, you know
Do not particularly please!

If you could see your ancestors
All standing in a row
There might be some of them, perhaps
You wouldn't care to know
But here's another question, which
Requires a different view ...
If you could meet your ancestors
Would they be proud of you?(Author unknown)